Does working the bolt on an AR or other rifle "break it in"?

T

tAKticool

New member
Question, I've heard conflicting opinions so I'll just come out and ask...

I personally believe there is no miracle cure nor secret society technique ofr breaking in a rifle or gun of any kind: you just shoot it!!! Keep on shooting it. A few hundred to thousand rounds later it's broken in, woohoo duh!

BUT: I have of course some things I don't or can't shoot too often and I wonder: Does working the bolt make the rifle break in quicker/easier/does it do anything good or bad?

I remember reading something about shotguns and someone said, keep working the bolt on your (my) 930 SPX and keep pumping and unlocking your (my) supernova and it will smoothen itself and work itself right out and be awesome. Well I don't know icf that's true at all. Also have heard it helps an AR (which I have heard can definitely benefit from breaking in?) or it does nothing but put wear and tear on the metal?

So what do you say? How bout on my rimfires, Rem 597 semi (which DEFINITELY could use breaking in) or Savage Mark II (Bolt action)
t

thanks
 
Well I took my M44, smothered the bolt in CLP, and worked the action 500-1000 times. That smoothed it up a lot.

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M44 is a Mosin Nagant right Linux?

I'm just wondering so I can try to compare ... I would definitely think an older rifle would need some working in/breaking in etc. ... I have heard that an AR is a "finely tuined precision made piece of machinery" so I would therefore think it still needs to be finely broken in properly ...whereas an AK should work from the beginning right, or do I have it reversed?

I actually believe that ALL firearms need to be broken in well, right? I just wonder, while there is surely no substitute for FIRING it, can you HELP it along when you can't shoot by working the bolt / cycling the actrion / dry firing etc.

thnanks again
 
I can say there is some truth to working the action to break it in if it presents some sort of a problem out of the box. I've had some guns that had sticky spots where the action would drag or hang up. I've loaded up toothpaste in some, abrasive compounds and or soaps in others and used a stone with oil in some. Manually cycle the action a few hundred times or more and the rough spots that were hanging up would dwindle away.
 
I think it varies action to action & it depends on finish applied to the parts the maker uses.
Example:
DSA made FAL rifles have a parkerized finish that is famously (notoriously?) rough as it leaves the production line. There are lots of posts by new owners that the action won't "run". The advice is usually to remove the magazine & hand cycle the action repeatedly while doing something else, then strip, clean, lube & re-assemble. This usually seems to fix the problem as those who do it report full function after doing so. Most compare the change to "dragging a rock over gravel" changing to "Running like a raped ape".

I have a Lee-Enfield that I removed from the mummy wrap, stripped, cleaned, lubed & shot. I also linseed oiled the wood & so on. In fact it probably got more "care" than 99% of issued rifles. After several hundred cycles the bolt definitely slicked up the bore (which I had to use a 27 cal jag in to clean originally) now takes a 30 cal jag as it should & groups tightened appreciably. Obvious signs of the process included the removing of black "Suncorite" paint, a paint that is legendary for durability, from the bolt body, receiver raceways & other places & the general polishing to fit with use. The semi-matte paint finish is now slick shiny steel. 5-round group sizes started out at 4~5" for 5 rounds and are now down to 1 1/2" with the identical components & method of use.

Based on that some certainly do, but not all may need to be broken in that way.
 
While it might help some on the AR, you won't notice since the gas does the work for you. When I start a new AR, I use quite a bit of lube on the bolt parts simply to prevent galling or gouging of the receiver. You can work the bolt by hand some just make yourself feel good but unless it's way too tight to begin with, the system will not notice it's a little rough. I've used some bolts that were pretty rough on the outside finish with plenty of CLP and there was no noticeable wear OR polishing after 20-30 rounds except where the bolt actually made contact with the carrier.
 
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